Gastric Cancer Foundation board members are leading efforts to
advance cancer care by sharing data and increasing access to clinical trials. Jim Ford, MD, of the Stanford Cancer Institute, and Lincoln Nadauld, MD, of Intermountain Healthcare, have been instrumental in creating the Oncology Precision Network consortium to open access to precision medicine and clinical trials for previously underserved cancer patients.

The Oncology Precision Network's formation is a response to
Vice President Joe Biden's Cancer Moonshot Initiative, focused on coordinating investments to support cancer research and spur progress in treatment and care. The network will leverage data from Stanford Cancer Institute (where the Gastric Cancer Registry is housed), Intermountain Healthcare, and Provident Healthcare to help find cancer breakthroughs, with 100,000 data sets almost immediately in their database.

Once fully implemented, the Oncology Precision Network anticipates it will help 50,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients each year and house data for more than 1.5 million historical cancer cases.
Read more here.

Annual Oncology Conference Offers

Hopeful News for Gastric Patients

A promising gastric cancer treatment was shared at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference (ASCO), which brought together over 30,000 oncology professionals in early June. A relatively new company, Ganymed, announced a breakout cancer drug that investigators say, "can significantly extend median survival when added to standard chemotherapy-13.2 months vs. 8.4 for patients with advanced gastric cancer."
See the FierceBiotech report here.

Among the other presentations, Razelle Kurzrock, MD, UC San Diego Chief of Hematology and Oncology, reported the success of biomarker-based (personalized) cancer treatment strategy showing targeted therapy works for large segments of people, including gastric cancer patients. A related paper is published in the
June 6 JAMA Oncology Journal here. For more latest news, sign up for the
Focus on GI news aggregate from MDLink.

Looking for a Gastric Cancer Clinical Trial?

The U.S. National Institutes of Health
lists all publicly and privately supported clinical studies conducted around the world. Right now, there are 802 listed for gastric cancer, half of which are recruiting or preparing to recruit applicants in all stages of the disease and for multiple treatments. Visit clinicaltrials.gov for more.

New GI Alliance Launched in June

The Gastric Cancer Foundation and 19 other organizations are uniting to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for the prevention, treatment, and ultimately- a cure for gastrointestinal cancers.

"Through this coalition, we intend to redouble our efforts to find a cure for gastric cancer. The Alliance is committed to working together to provide greater support for research, prevention, and treatment," says Alice Leung, Foundation Board member and representative to the GI Cancers Alliance. Read more here.

The GI Cancers Alliance will focus on creating programs that raise general awareness about GI cancers and create resources and tools that fill in the gaps for patients. See more information about an upcoming July GI Cancer Summitfor patients and caregivers.

Feinstein noted it's the time of the year when we gather with friends, new and old, to appreciate the bounty we all possess and to show support for causes dear to us.

Plan on joining the Gastric Cancer Foundation family at the Green Hills Golf Course in Millbrae, CA on Friday, November 18. You may also send a financial contribution to support more research toward finding a cure for gastric cancer today.

Connect with Your Supporters

We've been seeing great conversations taking place on social media, with supporters sharing stories, asking questions, and pushing research to find a cure. Among the questions posed: whether our "Chef without a Stomach" and Foundation Board member Hans Rueffert had any symptoms prior to diagnosis. He shared that he did have some minor symptoms but at the time attributed them to stress. Our post reached over 6,000 people with 55 shares.
Join the conversation online.

You Can Help Fund The Most Underfunded Major Cancer

Help us build an "army of investigators" to focus on gastric cancer. Without research funds for this sorely underfunded cancer, young researchers may be drawn away to other cancer fields. Your donation makes it possible for more researchers to do the studies that will lead to breakthroughs in finding a cure.
Donate now!